How to Sand Popcorn Ceilings

Clean cobwebs and dust from your ceiling before scraping and sanding.

Popcorn texture was pretty standard on the ceilings of older homes. You may want to remove the popcorn texture on your own ceiling, but do not just start sanding away. You must prepare the area and scrape the ceiling first. After the ceiling has been scraped and sanded, you can finish it as you like too apply a new texture or to paint it. One word of caution: Some older ceilings contain asbestos. If your ceiling is covered with this dangerous material, you must hire a professional to remove it. Only remove texture yourself that is guaranteed free of asbestos.

Things You'll Need

• Zip-top bag
• Utility knife
• Circuit tester
• Plastic tarps
• Masking tape
• Child safety outlet covers
• Painter's tape
• Resin paper
• Garden Sprayer
• Joint knife
• Pliers
• Medium-grit sandpaper
• Pole sander

Instructions

1. Collect a sample of your ceiling material. Scrape some of the popcorn texture into a sealable zip-top bag with a utility knife. Send the sample to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for testing to make sure that it does not contain asbestos before you continue.

2. Turn off your home's electricity at the source; there may be lines running through the ceiling to other rooms that would remain active if you turned off only the power to one room. Live wires can cause electrocution due to the amount of water you're going to use. Use a circuit tester to ensure all outlets are off.

3. Move the furniture out of the room and take down any hanging light fixtures. Spread plastic tarps over the floor and tape a border of plastic 1 to 2 feet up the walls all the way around. Cover electrical outlets with masking tape or child safety covers.

4. Hang heavy plastic over each wall with painter's tape. Butt the top edges of the plastic against the border between the ceiling and the walls. Lay resin paper over the floors to catch the dust from the ceiling.

5. Examine the ceiling and mentally break it into 5-foot sections. Dampen the first section with a pump garden sprayer; the ceiling should feel wet to the touch but not drip. Bend in the corners of the joint knife with pliers so that the sharp edges do not gouge the ceiling. Scrape off the popcorn texture with it.

6. Finish scraping each section of the ceiling. Lay down more resin paper over the old layer after each section. Locate any rough areas of the ceiling and sand them down with medium-grit sandpaper attached to a pole sander.

References

• Ron Hazelton's HouseCalls: How to Remove a Popcorn-Textured Ceiling
• United States Environmental Protection Agency